Jeff Miller to join nation's Caring Hall of Fame

By Emily WeaverTimes-News Staff Writer

Monday

Oct 13, 2014 at 12:39 PM

Hendersonville's own Jeff Miller is set to join the ranks of the nation's Caring Hall of Fame this weekend when he will be honored for selfless service, alongside other great honorees like Gabby Giffords, Muhammad Ali and Jane Seymour.

Hendersonville’s own Jeff Miller is set to join the ranks of the nation’s Caring Hall of Fame this weekend when he will be honored for selfless service, alongside other great honorees such as Gabby Giffords, Muhammad Ali and Jane Seymour.Sens. Bob Dole and Tom Daschle, co-chairs of the Caring Institute, announced the 2014 Caring Award honorees on Monday. This year marks the Institute’s 27th year highlighting persons who exemplify selfless service to those in need, according to a release from the institute Monday.A Hendersonville City Councilman and local business owner, Miller is being recognized alongside Earl Morse for their efforts to honor those who have served the nation.Miller and Morse are co-founders of the Honor Flight Network, which helps veterans of all ages travel to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial and other monuments erected in honor of their service. To date, Honor Flight has paid to bring more than 150,000 World War II veterans to their nation’s capital, where they can meet old comrades, share memories of the past, and receive a well-deserved round of applause from the public and its leaders. “By creating Honor Flight, Miller and Morse have shined a light on forgotten heroes who deserve our thanks and our respect,” according to the release.“We are honored to celebrate these extraordinary people who have used their lives for the benefit of others,” Dole stated in the release.“These persons honor us all by the quality of their lives, so it is highly appropriate that we honor them and hold them up as role models to be emulated by all,” Daschle added. Val J. Halamandaris, founder of the institute, announced that the 2014 Caring Award Ceremony would be held on Oct. 18 in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at the Omni Montelucia Resort beginning at 7 p.m. This year, six young adult winners, 10 adult winners and one International Caring Award recipient will be recognized and inducted into the Caring Hall of Fame. “The Caring Hall of Fame is a permanent memorial to the extraordinary people who have received an award from the Caring Institute. Their portraits hang in a special gallery, along with biographies telling how they have transcended self to serve others,” according to the Caring Hall of Fame’s website. Memorials in the Hall of Fame hang inside the Frederick Douglass Museum in Washington, D.C.Award winnersLonnie and Muhammad Ali, co-founders of the Muhammad Ali Center, will be recognized for advocating for children and for combatting neurological disease. The Muhammad Ali Center provides children and adults with tools to contribute to their communities, according to the release. The couple host an annual Celebrity Fight Night to generate funds for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute.Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, will be honored for leading the fight against cancer and for responsible gun laws. The couple has overcome personal trauma to fight gun violence and support research on cancer, according to the release, and have written a best-selling memoir “Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love and Resilience.”Actress, artist, writer and designer Jane Seymour will be recognized as a champion extraordinaire for children. “She has given her time and talents to a number of organizations: the American Red Cross; Camp Soaring Eagle, which serves children with special needs; and Childhelp, a revered Phoenix-based organization that helps prevent child abuse... In addition, Seymour created her own Open Hearts Foundation to support children and adults with programs that empower them and teach them how to turn adversity into opportunity,” according to the release. Seymour has been honored by Queen Elizabeth as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.The International Caring Award is set to go to President Bill Clinton for “Restoring Caring as a Core American Value.” As president, Clinton “ranked with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln as one of the country’s most caring leaders,” according to the release. “Since leaving office, he has continued on the same path of service through the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and its programs, including the Clinton Global Initiative. He has brought health care to developing nations, provided their citizens with clean water, and helped them fight malaria, polio and HIV/AIDS. He has been active in disaster relief and joined with Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush in raising funds for hurricane and tsunami victims. He has also been a catalyst for the work of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, along with the Thea and Gates Foundations. Through his global impact on millions, Clinton has come to stand for caring, the value that Mother Teresa defined as ‘love in action.’”Reach Weaver at Emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.Follow Weaver on Twitter at https://twitter.com/EmilyWORDWeaver

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